What are the steps in the interview process?
How Corporations Typically Conduct the Interview Process
All
corporations over time develop a set pattern of how to
conduct an interview. Rarely are there dramatic
changes to the overall interview process and any changes
made tend to be minor and focus on narrow aspects.
With that thought in mind, we have included a process that
represents most organizations’ current interview process.
1. Position Need Is
Identified. This can be based on replacing a
current role or based on demand creating an new position
2. Hiring Manager gains
approval and room in the budget to move forward with a
hiring decision.
3.
Job Description Is Made For The Position.
a. This is usually completed
by the Hiring Manager and states the general job duties for
the position and what qualifications they are looking for?
4.
Advertisement Of The Position.
a. The job description is
placed in the job listings section of the company’s website
and may include advertising the position in other mediums,
such as newspaper and internet job posting sites.
b. This function can be done
by Human Resources (HR) personnel or by the Hiring Manager
depending largely on how involved HR is with the interview
process.
5. Review of Incoming Resumes.
a. If HR handles this request,
the list of incoming resumes will be either reviewed by an
HR representative manually or be submitted into a resume
software program designed to sort out those most qualified
for the position from those with lesser qualifications. The
more qualified candidates resumes are forwarded to the
Hiring Manager. This is where HR are the
gatekeepers. They look for keywords on your resume and
usually score based on matches they are looking for on the
job description vs. your resume.
b. Another alternative is the
resumes may come directly to an administrative assistant who
will sift through the resumes before sending the qualified
candidates' resumes onto the Hiring Manager.
6. Hiring Manager Chooses
Interview Candidates.
a.
Hiring Manager reviews the condensed list to look for
prospective interviews.
7. Contacting The
Candidate
a. Hiring Manager or HR
representative will then contact the candidate to setup an
initial phone screen interview.
8. Initial Phone Screen
Interview
a. This will most often be
conducted by an HR representative or an administrative
assistant. Its purpose is to see whether the candidate
is interested in the specific position and whether his/her
qualifications and salary requirements are in line with the
company’s projected range. To get an idea of how the
employee will see this process, check out the phone
interview tips.
9. Formal Phone Interview
a. A member of the hiring team
will contact the candidate over the phone and ask questions
about the candidate’s resume and also some behavioral
questions. The purpose of this interview is to screen
out candidates who do not have the appropriate level of
experience in all the job qualifications.
10. Background Check
a. This step can be performed
at any time; however, it usually does not become an issue
until right before and during the on-site interviews.
b. Essentially, an HR
representative will be following up on the candidate’s
references and former employers to determine whether his
resume and answers are consistent with those people’s
opinions and memories of the candidate.
11. Technical Efficiency Tests
a. These tests are objective
tests designed to determine what level of proficiency the
candidate has in a certain skill. For example, a
banker might be asked to perform some mathematical
calculations in a timed testing environment to see how good
are his/her mathematical skills.
b. These tests can be
performed at anytime in the interview process. Some
companies provide these with the initial phone interview and
can be done over the Internet or a local testing site.
Other companies will wait to provide these technical
efficiency tests until the on-site interviews.
c. Poor performance on these
tests will bar candidates from advancing in the interviewing
process although the actual weight given to these tests will
vary depending on the position and the company.
12. Formal On-Site Interview(s)
a. These interviews are performed by other
members of the hiring team and/or the Hiring Manager and
they are designed to:
i. Ask further behavioral and resume-based
questions.
ii. Give the candidate one final opportunity to
resolve any lingering doubts or concerns about their
qualifications.
iii. Provide an opportunity to do additional technical
efficiency testing in a controlled environment.
iv. Determine if the candidate would be a good
fit for their team and company culture.
13. Final Interview
a. This is usually with the Hiring Manager
or the Hiring Manager’s boss. The main purpose of this
interview is to either:
i. Determine if the candidate’s
personality is a good fit for the team or
ii. Decide between the remaining candidates to
see who would be the best candidate for the company’s needs.
14. Acceptance or Rejection
a. An acceptance can be given at the final
interview by the Hiring Manager. However, it can also
be given a few days later via a phone call or email from HR
Personnel.
b. A rejection tends to be given through
email or a phone call later in the process. As a
matter of practice, an email tends to be the preferred
method with a statement saying the company has chosen to go
with another candidate.
This outline provides a good working knowledge of the
typical corporation’s approach on how to conduct an
interview. Compare it with your own corporation’s
process to see how it matches up.There
Would you like help with the interview process? Most hiring decision are made in the first five minutes of the interview. You must be prepared for these three common interview questions to give you a dynamic first five minutes.
An Interview Coach can help you avoid fatal
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